Edgar Wright has returned to directing TV commercials with this new office-based McDonald’s ad that breaks all the so-called “rules.”
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Edgar Wright is best known as the co-writer/director of Spaced, Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End, Scott Pilgrim, Baby Driver, and Last Night In Soho. He’s also a big favourite of mine. You’ll even see me as a zombie in Shaun when the camera lifts up over the fence, and we see the Winchester pub covered in zombies. I’m bottom right, lurching with a satchel over my shoulder. The undead still need their accessories.
But he’s also done all sorts of other projects over the years, including the recent The Sparks Brothers documentary and many music videos, including for his then-partner Charlotte Hatherley and the seminal fumetti video Bastardo, as well as the video for Blue Song by Mint Royale that would one day become Baby Driver. And now, an advert for McDonald’s, his first UK ad since 2003, though he’s done two in the US since, one for Nike and another for Squarespace with Zendaya. This ad, titled Raise Your Arches is quite an unexpected shift. It does play into some of Edgar Wright’s interests, but it doesn’t become an identifiable caricature of an Edgar Wright ad. There are none of his signature fast forced cuts and just a couple of whip pans. Instead, it’s closer to the opening scenes of Baby Driver, with action matched to the music and diegetic words used instead of speech.
It’s a decent ad for all sorts of reasons, but the raised eyebrows, the shared idea of doing something a bit naughty, an inside joke, a conspiracy between friends or colleagues, combined with the McDonald’s logo is very, very good indeed. It makes going to McDonald’s a social activity amongst those who work together or alongside each other, crossing class and creed. Basically, McDonald’s in this ad is not competing with Burger King, Subway, or Gregg’s as a destination. It’s competing with the pub.
The idea of the raised eyebrows represents that communication is a universal, wordless trick. This ad could conceivably air anywhere – or certainly, be adapted to a local population anywhere. Language is not even an issue here, with any words that appear easily switched out.
And tying the raised eyebrow in with the McDonald’s arches, if this gets enough airplay, will make this a cultural thing. A shorthand, knowing way of suggesting going to McDonald’s. It is the first McDonald’s ad not to feature a McDonald’s, the people who work there, or the food itself. This is a benefit-led ad rather than a feature-led ad, and those can often be the most long-lasting and impactful.
Expect it to be the signal for going to McDonald’s. People will do it in a self-aware fashion, kids will do it non-ironically, and suddenly McDonald’s will own the expression. Also, look at the actors. So many distinctive faces, some you’ll recognise but may not have a name for. Very specifically selected “up-and-comers” such as Rebecca Sibthorpe, Chris Thatcher, Phoebe Coop and Zita Žutić Koňák who you will one day be able to embarrass when they are getting BAFTAs and Oscars. Though nothing compares to what Daniel Kaluuya has to deal with.
There are more familiar Edgar Wright alumni behind the scenes, Last Night In Soho choreographer Jen White, the editor of the Blue Song/Bastardo videos David Webb, and production designer Marcus Rowland who he’s done nearly everything since Spaced with, and Jake Polonsky who shot a lot of his music videos back in the day, including the Bluetones’ After Hours and his Sparks documentary. Always good to find an opportunity to keep your regular crew in work between bigger jobs, yes?
Let’s not forget the music. Oh Yeah by Yello (like McDonald’s yellow), made famous by repeat use in the Ferris Bueller movie, followed up by The Secret Of My Success. The double bounce “Bom Bom” fits the raised eyebrows of the McDonald’s arches. It is this aspect that most likely saw ad agency Leo Burnett and Moxie Pictures reach out to Edgar Wright in the first place, and they will have played the “going for coffee” scene from Baby Driver repeatedly in virtual agency boardrooms first, I am sure.
Other things to note, the original “wipe” of the window cleaners that opens the scene, sets this in an office, but we will see those cleaners again very soon. Instantly I got both Brazil and Crimson Permanent Assurance vibes from this office look from outside; Edgar Wright does like a Gilliam. But you might even look at Billy Wilder‘s The Apartment. And so we span the office, beginning with the lowliest staff (wearing McDonald’s yellow and red colours, as are the window cleaners) to the senior, showing a classless appeal of McDonald’s, a very particular point for British audiences.
Outside the office, maintenance workers, security staff, postal workers, and office cleaners are being recruited to join in, people who the other workers might otherwise barely notice. This is a class fantasy all of a sudden, but it is an appealing one. Everyone is in on the conspiracy to go to McDonald’s for lunch. I love the slipping on the security pass to indicate they are leaving the building. The laptop being swept to the floor in a rush for the door emphasises the importance. The mood board transforms from Bored, Hungry, FOMO, Distracted, Tired, Thirsty to Positive Attitude, Relax, Idea, and Awake. And the janitor leading the charge with his mop at the end had real Ray Gardner energy. We’ll get to him in a minute.
And then there’s the extreme symmetry, mirroring the symmetry of the double arches of McDonald’s as well. It’s just so very… pleasing. Of course, what happens when an entire office all goes to a McDonald’s at once and has to stand around half an hour lining up to press a screen to get served, is not shown. This is not about reality; this is a fairytale. Even seeing a full office, and not one with two-thirds still working from home is something you wouldn’t get at Leo Burnett right now. This is not just a paean to McDonald’s as a destination but to the shared society of office life as a whole. You can’t raise your eyebrows on Zoom and get an office friend to go to the nearest McDonald’s. Can we expect the Government to play this to try and get good cheer about people returning to the office? Stranger things have happened.
As we referenced above, the Ray Gardner Blackcurrant Tango TV ad below could, in many ways, be seen as an inspiration for Raise Your Arches. This ad, showing people charging out from an office and gathering others along the way, arguably did a lot to persuade people to support the Brexit referendum in the first place. Let’s watch that again, shall we?
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